Tastes
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Macallan Rare Cask Black
Single Malt — Highlands, Scotland
Reviewed May 27, 2017 (edited July 23, 2022)My friend Paul graciously sent me a hearty sample of the travel exclusive Macallan Rare Cask Black back around the holidays. This is a special release that's advertised as combining a total of 100 casks that previously held peated whisky from an undisclosed distillery. I did a little bit of digging and I'm taking an educated guess that the casks used were from fellow Edrington Group-owned Highland Park. Due to the complete lack of peat, brine and smoke I'd also say that are second or third fill. I could not detect a single hint of peated whisky. This was pretty much identical to the widely released Rare Cask (which is still a phenomenal single malt). On the nose, it's tons and tons of sherry and dark fruits, figs and raisins. It's a delight to just sit and nose this whisky. Just about any other aspects that should be present: oak, vanilla, cinnamon, etc are all overshadowed by sweet, sherry wine. The palate is very Macallan: sweet to the point your fillings are tingling. Those dark fruits feel more like a sugary, fruit juice than whisky. It's amazingly smooth with a nice pop of heat at the end from the 48% ABV. It's damn fine. The finish is medium length, oily and sweet. There's a calm, warming that lasts and urges you to take another sip and another sip. So, I did. Overall, I gave the original Rare Cask 5 well earned stars and the Rare Cask Black is just as wonderful, but I have to dock something because I was expecting some sort of peat or smoke to make an appearance and it didn't. Thanks to my great friend Paul for finally giving in to my persistence and plopping down the hard earned money to buy a bottle of this. Even more thanks to him for sending me what amounted to 1/5 of the bottle to sample. I would've never been able to acquire this on my own. Even though I sent him some nice whisky in trade for this, I still think I owe him more. Thanks, bro. You. Are. The. Man. Everyone else- well, I sure as hell recommend you give this one a try if you see if locally. It's as rare as its namesake and worth every penny. 4.75 stars. Cheers. -
BenRiach Septendecim 17 Year
Single Malt — Speyside, Scotland
Reviewed May 20, 2017 (edited February 24, 2019)The second sample I provided for Round 2 of our distillery sample group: Speyside's BenRiach 17 year old Septendecim. This peated whisky was finished in Pedro Ximenez sherry casks and is non-chill filtered and has no color added. It's 46% ABV and is a beautiful golden yellow in the tasting glass. The nose is amazingly complex- besides the expected peat smoke there's a wonderful cigar box (cedar) note along with some fruit cake, chocolate and vanilla from the wood used. The taste is simply delicious. It's thick and oily with a ton of chocolate covered nuts, figs and smoked meats with a peppery finish. Speaking of finish- it's thick, oily and relatively long. This is another malt I think would work wonders with a great cigar. Ten minutes after finishing the Glencairn and I'm still smacking my lips and picking up subtle flavors from the whisky. Overall, this is another winner from BenRiach. I'm not sure it's better than the port wood finished Solstice, but it's a damn fine sister bottling that's easily worth the $80-90 the bottle costs. What a great and fulfilling sipper. 4.6 stars. Cheers, my friends. Happy World Whiskey Day 2017! -
Macallan Double Cask 12 Year
Single Malt — Highland, Scotland
Reviewed May 13, 2017 (edited September 3, 2021)So, since my fellow Scottish Distillery Tour compatriots have already sampled one of their own offerings for the second round of the tour- I gotta get in on that. So I gave myself a long pour of the Macallan 12 year Double Cask. This one comes in at 43% ABV and uses ex-sherry casks from America and Europe for this new, core offering from Macallan. It's a dark gold/dirty copper in the Glencairn and makes some oily, but thin legs after giving it a swirl. The nose is mostly sherry (of course), but there's some nice chocolate notes bursting through along with a bit of dried fruits. Then there's that ever-present "Macallan note". On the tongue, a nice pop of spicy oak really catches your attention before being washed away by the normal sherry and dark fruits. It's incredibly smooth, just like most from Macallan. I haven't had the regular 12 year old in a while, but this definitely seems less harsh than what I remember from that one. The finish is bright- spicy and zesty before being overtaken by the chocolate and darker fruit sweetness. There's a tiny bit of burn from the ABV, but it's over pretty quickly and finishes drier than I'd like. Overall, it's a typical Macallan. Tasty, yet non-offending at all. I kind of want to apologize to the guys on the SDT group because I claimed Macallan off of the list and supplied this run-of-the-mill sauce. I know there are better offerings from Macallan that would've probably went over better, but here early on we are all a little cost conscious and I've had this bottle under the bar for quite some time. We can cross Macallan off the list, but I should've done better. 3.5 stars. Cheers, my friends. -
GlenDronach Allardice 18 Year
Single Malt — Highlands, Scotland
Reviewed May 11, 2017 (edited April 13, 2020)It's a chilly, rainy night here in Virginia so I figured it's a great time to get into some single malts. I opened this bottle several weeks ago on my trip to visit family in WV. I took a few sips but didn't really sit down and analyze things. I might as well put it through its paces tonight. The GlenDronach 18 Allardice. This malt comes in at 46% ABV, has no color added and isn't chill filtered. This particular batch was named after Glendronach's founder James Allardes. It's a deep mahogany color and makes some silky legs in the taster. The nose is very sweet: caramel and vanilla along with some dark fruits like plums and raisins. The first full Oloroso sherry casks are also very present. It smells great. The palate is all GlenDronach spice: ginger, spice cake and orange peel. There's a bit of a nutty, oily flavor present as well. It's fantastic. I really love GlenDronach and this one takes that to the next level. It's ridiculously smooth. The finish is all spice. Those dark fruits and that spice cake hang around awhile and really coat the tongue through the entire sip. The ABV is well hidden and those 18 long years in the sherry casks have made a wonderfully smooth whisky. This is one of my favorite single malts of all time. It's deliciously sweet with that signature GlenDronach spice profile. The price point is on the higher side as I believe I paid close to $180 but this is a bottle I'd love to have on hand all the time. Great, great juice. 4.75 stars. Cheers. -
Compass Box Flaming Heart 15th Anniversary Limited Edition
Blended Malt — Scotland
Reviewed May 11, 2017 (edited September 16, 2019)With Round 2 of our distillery tour looming I figured I needed to work on a couple of open bottles I've had sitting around for a month or so. Tonight is the night. Up first: Compass Box Flaming Heart (15th Anniversary). This was bottled in July of 2015 with a total of 12,060 bottles available. This is the 4th edition of the Flaming Heart series. This is roughly made up of 65% Caol Ila (14 & 30 year old), 24% Clynelish (20 year old) and 10% Dailuane (7 year old). It's bottled at a slightly robust 48.9% ABV and is non-chill filtered. Enough with the technical mumbo jumbo... The nose is heavily peated with subtle hints of red berry fruit, cookie dough and bourbon cask wood. There's a lot of smoke so you really have to wait it out and get in there for the rest. It's worth working for, though. The initial sip is almost entirely peat. You can tell it's primarily Caol Ila used in the blend. It really overpowers, err shines, here. I love Caol Ila and that makes this one another winner in my book. Sea salt and briny seaweed stick to the tongue towards the finish which, in my opinion, makes you want to drink more. The finish is thick and oily. There isn't much burn and it's all over pretty quickly. This isn't my favorite CBW by a long shot but I can't see ever turning it down lol. Overall, it smells better than it tastes and the taste is kind of one dimensional- peat. But, if you love oily, peat bog whisky then seek out a bottle and give it a try. I paid somewhere north of $100 for this bottle which is cheaper than their newer blends, yet slightly higher than their core stuff. Buy it for the simple fact it's got 50% of whisky older than 20 years old. That makes the price point pretty reasonable IMO. 4.25 stars. Cheers, my friends. -
Craigellachie 13 Year
Single Malt — Speyside, Scotland
Reviewed May 2, 2017 (edited January 18, 2020)I am finally able to drag my slow-drinking self across the finish line for Round 1 of our Scottish Distillery tour group. This is the 15th sample shared among 5 whisky friends and we are about to embark on round 2 in a couple of weeks. This pour was supplied by my local friend, Ryan and was a pleasant surprise. Craigellachie 13 Year is 92 proof and non-chill filtered. It's very fruity on the nose, sweet tropical fruit. It's in abundance here and it's quite mouth watering. The typical wood and vanilla notes also round it out really well, with a wisp of mint to snap you back to attention if your nose strays too long in the Glencairn. On the tongue, well those tropical fruits and orchard apples really play well together and make you just want to keep swirling it around until the spicy oak and mint begin to wash it away. Speaking of the finish- it's pretty long. There's the initial sweetness that turns peppery and ends on a final, semi-dry note. That's it's only weakness to me. All those tropical flavors are something I'd love to see hang around and encourage another sip. The dryness just seems like an unwelcome and abrupt end. It's still quite a fantastic dram. I think I will add a full bottle of this to my next big, online order. I wouldn't mind keeping this one on hand for those warm, summer nights that are almost here. Thanks again, Ryan. What a fitting way to end the first round of the SDT. Bring on Round 2! Cheers -
I reached for this one as I was winding down after working a slow, overnight shift. This is one of the final few samples from the distillery tour I'm doing with some friends. This one is very, very light in color and in aroma. After letting it sit in the glass for upwards of 10 minutes all I'm getting is a faint, lemon furniture polish scent. It's not disgusting, but it's also not very inviting. A few moments later and even that aroma is gone. Hmm... On the palate, well, there just isn't much there. It's a tad harsh, which is somewhat expected since it's just a tad over 3 years old. There's no oak detected either. It's lively and fresh with a nice pop of heat from the ABV, but it all washes away quickly through the finish. Nothing hangs around long, either. It's forgettable. Overall, it's the epitome of young whisky and that's okay. I just wish there was something there that could excite my curiosity for when they finally release something with some age to it. I'm not sure I'd seek this out anytime soon. Thanks to my friend Pranay for offering it up and giving me a chance to get a taste. Let's keep moving, though. 2.75 stars. Cheers, my friends.
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Edradour Caledonia 12 Year
Single Malt — Highlands, Scotland
Reviewed April 25, 2017 (edited July 9, 2019)So, I'm finally trying to get myself back into our Scottish Distillery Tour. I'm down to the final 3 samples provided by other members in the group as the shipping date for our second round rapidly approaches. This is the second of 3 from my friend Pranay. Edradour Caledonia 12 year old. It's 46% ABV and from the Highland region. It's non-chill filtered and has no color added. On the nose there's tons of fruit from the Oloroso sherry cask and a nice blast of cinnamon and oak from the bourbon cask. They're all there and mingle quite nicely. A refreshing burst of heat greets your tongue along with cinnamon and oak. The finish is longer than I expected and was just hot enough to put a smile on my face. This was a great way to bring me back to the SDT. 3.75 stars. Cheers. -
Distiller's Pure True Handcrafted Original Master's Small Batch Reserve
Other Whiskey — USA
Reviewed April 1, 2017 (edited December 3, 2019)So, the doorbell rang (which is weird because I don't have one) and standing there in his mustard yellow outfit was my local FedUp delivery guy. "Package for Mr Evolved." "Do I need to sigh..." I asked, but he simply dropped the box at my feet and darted away before I could finish. Was he scared of the package's content or the fact I didn't have any pants on? I'll never know. The box was covered in Asbestos Warning stickers with a return address that just read 'Latrine'. Clearly the can's seal was broken as the bottom of the box was already saturated in something fluorescent yellow and smelling of bug spray and Elmer's glue (the school kind). Inside, the rusted can was already punctured, but it seemed like it was that way on purpose- like maybe there was something living inside that needed an air hole. I swished it a bit and a splash of the liquid hit the floor and immediately turned the shag carpet from its normal burgundy to a shaved, stained burnt orange. Hmm, must be high proof. I raced for the kitchen and grabbed the dirtiest Glencairn I could find. One still had a slimy, gray clump of tar at the bottom along with a few bits of tree bark stuck to the side- I had just sampled some Octomore the other day. Perfect, I thought. Once in the tasting glass, i gave it a swirl only to have the liquid fold over itself with a resounding "glop". I swirled it a bit harder and it rewarded me by revealing its legs- the legs of a quadruple amputee. That first sip really hit home. I've never tasted sadness until now. Salty tears of a clown college dropout. It clings to your tongue like your first obsessive ex-girlfriend. Run bro, run. The finish, well...it's not the fact the whisky is done so much as it's you're finished. My liver literally failed. I read on WebMD that you can restart a failed liver by chugging an American light lager so I shotgunned a couple of PBRs and that's the only reason I'm able to post this review right now. Overall, this is a solid first offering from the guys at Distiller. I still have 5-6oz left so I'm going to drink the rest of those PBRs in the fridge and invite the ex-wife over because she said we should get together over a couple of drinks and talk about reconciliation. Wish me luck. Cheers, my friends.
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